EAST AFRICA
Hunger threatens 23 million people
Every 48 seconds, a person dies of starvation in East Africa. This terrifying figure comes from the report by the NGOs Oxfam and Save the Children, published on May 18, according to which more than 23 million people suffer from “extreme hunger” in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, against 10 million last year . The region is experiencing its worst drought in forty years and is suffering from the rise in food prices linked to the war in Ukraine, explains the American radio NPR. “The famine is a political failure”, asserts Oxfam, deploring the lack of international solidarity.
EUROPEAN UNION
Brussels wants to get out of Russian gas
It is a weaning at more than 300 billion euros. On May 18, the European Commission presented its “REPowerEU” plan to get rid of Russian gas and oil as quickly as possible. “It is based on four pillars: saving energy, replacing Russian gas with other fossil fuels, stimulating green energy and financing new infrastructure such as pipelines and liquefied natural gas terminals”, summarizes Politico. The states most dependent on Moscow will also turn to other countries for supplies: the United States, Norway, Qatar and Algeria.
SPAIN
Juan Carlos, the ex-king persona non grata
At 84, the King Emeritus of Spain continues to make headlines. After abdicating in 2014 amid scandal and going into exile in the Emirates in 2020, Juan Carlos I set foot in Spain again on May 19 to attend a regatta and see his son, King Felipe VI. His brief stint sparked outrage. Three investigations against him, for corruption and money laundering, have however just been dismissed. But “the economic and tax scandals have tarnished its image and damaged the reputation of the Crown, observes The Vanguardia. A definitive return to Spain becomes more difficult every day.”
UNITED STATES
Shortage of infant milk
Across the Atlantic, baby milk is running out. In question, problems on the supply chain linked to the pandemic, and the recent closure of a manufacturer’s factory, after a product recall. A headache for Biden, who announced an airlift on May 18 and the use of Cold War-era legislation to end the shortage. A plane from Germany carrying 31 tons of milk cans landed in Indiana on May 22. As for the American manufacturers, they expect a delay of several months before a full supply is again available on the shelves”, according to the site. Axios.
SOUTH KOREA AND JAPAN
Biden closes ranks in Asia
For his first official tour in Asia, which started on May 20, Joe Biden visited South Korea and Japan. Its objective: to reassure its Asian allies in the face of North Korean provocations and Chinese threats. In a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, he warned that the United States would defend Taiwan militarily in the event of an invasion by China. These statements mark a turning point “in the decades-old American policy of ‘strategic ambiguity'”, under which Washington remained vague on this subject, notes the South China Morning Post.
UKRAINE
First war crimes trials
Less than three months after the start of the conflict, the first trials of Russian soldiers for war crimes began in Ukraine. On May 23, a 21-year-old NCO accused of shooting dead a civilian riding a bicycle was sentenced by a kyiv court to life in prison. The second trial opened near Kharkiv against two other soldiers who fired rockets at civilian infrastructure. “A public test of the Ukrainian judicial system at a time when international institutions are simultaneously investigating the crimes of which the Russian forces are accused”, according to the Kyiv Post.
AUSTRALIA
Disavowed Scott Morrison
The island-continent is experiencing the end of an era, after nine years of conservative government: the party of outgoing Prime Minister Scott Morrison was defeated in the legislative elections on May 21. Labor Anthony Albanese takes his place. He was able to play on his opponent’s failures in the face of the Covid-19 epidemic and a series of environmental disasters – large-scale fires and floods -, analyzes the Sydney Morning Herald. Among its priorities: the fight against global warming and the defense of indigenous populations.